Democrats Press F.C.C. Chief on Enforcement

By Stepehn Labaton 2.1.07
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/business/media/01cnd-fcc.html?_r=
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FCC Chairman Martin has recently undergone tough questioning and harsh criticism by the newly appointed Democratic Senate.

In their first appearance before a Senate Commerce Committee under Democratic leadership, Kevin J. Martin, the commission’s chairman, and the other commissioners faced sharp criticism from some of the committee’s senior Democrats on their handling of the recent acquisition of BellSouth by AT&T.

The lawmakers also questioned the agency’s recent practice of not thoroughly reviewing applications by radio and television stations to renew their broadcast licenses.

Mr. Martin yielded no policy ground, saying, for example, that the conditions that the Democratic members of the commission managed to impose on AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth would not be applied to the rest of the industry.

And the lawmakers’ questions indicated that there is no broad political consensus on a range of recent legislative proposals.

But the aggressive questioning by the panel’s senior Democrats suggested that the lawmakers would be exerting significant pressure on the commission’s policymaking apparatus.

That could, at the very least, temper any deregulatory action that Mr. Martin and his fellow Republican commissioners have been contemplating, particularly as they prepare to consider measures that would make it easier for media conglomerates to own newspapers and television stations in the same cities.